Speculation is rife that Chelsea will jump at the chance to replace current boss Roberto Di Matteo with Pep Guardiola when the former Barcelona boss emerges from his hiatus. Considering Di Matteo guided Chelsea to a Champions League and FA Cup double last season, here is why they would be wrong to replace him.

Respect

One of the things which let down Andre Villas Boas during his time at Chelsea was that he didn’t have the respect of the higher profile players, Di Matteo does. The Italian has found a way to keep all of the egos in his team happy and this is something that could be jeopardised if Guardiola came in as he would have different ideas and would no doubt want to sign different players.

Tactics

Di Mateo has been superb in terms of the tactics that he uses at the start of matches and how he changes these tactics during matches. This is not to say that Guardiola is an inept manager tactically but in terms of formations and the way Chelsea play from defence to midfield to attack in all competitions, Di Matteo is doing nothing wrong. Chelsea are not getting torn apart because Di Matteo is making poor tactical decisions.

Settled

The biggest change that would take place if Di Matteo was replaced would be the unsettling of players and staff. Di Matteo has a settled club and a settled choice of first team players. Chelsea will only succeed if they keep these players settled over the rest of this season and beyond. Di Matteo won the Champions League with a settled side and the club is primed for an attack on the Premier League title and other domestic trophies. A switch around over the summer could damage all of this.

Time

It’s abundantly clear that Roman Abramovich is an extremely impatient owner but if Chelsea are going to return to the glory days of Jose Mourinho, when they genuinely dominated English football, they cannot keep changing managers. Di Matteo is a Chelsea man through and through having played the club and what Chelsea officials need to bear in mind is that Guardiola walked away from arguably the best Barcelona and best football club side there has ever been. There’s nothing to guard against him doing the same if he’s brought in at Chelsea.

Backing

Di Matteo has come out to say publicly that he feels as though he is being fully backed by the Chelsea owner and the Chelsea board. He is setting plans in motion for the future and is in full control over the players he signs to drive Chelsea forward as a club and business over the next few years. This provides a little insight into the way Chelsea are thinking as opposed to random rumours in the media.

Lewis Doe

Lewis Doe is a freelance writer and editor who seeks to bring you the biggest, smallest and most interesting stories from the football world. Lewis has previously written for some of the biggest football news and opinion sites in the world including FootballFanCast and Goal.com International. Lewis is also experienced writing in the betting industry and aims to deliver his stories with up to date factual and statistical information. He hopes to sum up stories for the site and provide an angle on the issue moving forward.